GECAS Signs Up For 10 787-10X

The formal launch of Boeing’s 787-10X could to be inching closer as GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) signed an order for ten of the type at the Paris Air Show. Deliveries of the GECAS Dreamliners are scheduled for between 2019 and 2021. The first production slots for the 787-10X are secured by Singapore Airlines, which is slated to receive the aircraft from 2018 onwards.

GECAS’s 787-10s will be powered with GEnx engines. The lessor has not ordered the Dreamliner’s smaller variants and the $2.9 billion order just placed at the Paris Air show is subject to the 787-10 program launch. The GECAS board has approved the purchase, President and CEO Norman Liu confirmed to Aviation Week.

“We have studied the capabilities Boeing is developing for the 787-10X and anticipate strong demand from our airline customers for this airplane,” he noted. He described the aircraft as the “most efficient aircraft” in the 5,000nm range and sees the 787-10X as the perfect replacement aircraft for the Boeing 777-200 and AirbusA330/ A340 aircraft. He said adding the 787-10 to the GECAS portfolio will widen its customer base and bring new customers.

“As a leader in commercial airplane leasing and financing, GECAS enjoys an outstanding reputation and its influence is substantial,” said Ray Conner, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “When GECAS makes a decision about how to build its fleet, the industry takes note. Its commitment to the 787-10X is a strong statement about the capabilities of this highly efficient airplane.”